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Marvel's second annual Hellfire Gala is coming in July and with it X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1, a 72-page one-shot special by Gerry Duggan, Russell Dauterman, Matteo Lolli, C.F. Villa, and Kris Anka that will try to up the ante on 2021's inaugural event.
2021's Hellfire Gala featured the X-Men changing the face of the solar system by terraforming Mars and claiming it as a mutant homeworld. So how do you get bigger than that?
Marvel isn't saying yet, but will reveal that every superhero on the planet ... or is that planets(?) ... is invited to witness the "radical transformation" the X-Men will try to bring to the Marvel Universe, including one that "may change the way the Marvel Universe sees them forever."
This year, when an uninvited guest crashes the event, chaos ensues that will cause cracks in the foundation of Krakoa and lead into 2022's uber-Marvel event Judgment Day by Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti, a three-way showdown between the Avengers, Eternals, and the X-Men.
The uninvited guest seems to be the robotic incarnation of Moira MacTaggert from Omega-Wolverine's timeline, who plans to crash the event by wearing the skin of Mary Jane Watson, an invited guest due to her role as a human brand ambassador for Krakoa's "miracle medicines."
Mary Jane (presumably Moira) can be seen in new first look preview pages Marvel has released for the special, which show her taking a moment aside with Proteus, otherwise known as Kevin MacTaggart, Moira's son, with a suspicious Doug Ramsey looking on.
A former villain, Proteus is a member of The Five who resurrects mutants and is nearly inseparable from its other four members seen earlier on the same page. Having his evil mom in disguise lead him away probably isn't a good thing.
Other scenes in the first look include a flaming vision of Moira juxtaposed with Cyclops and Emma dancing (on her presumed grave? Probably not a good idea), Spider-Man bumping into Doctor Doom, a confrontation between the new Sorcerer Supreme Clea and Emma, and a redacted character deemed "classified" standing next to Steve Rogers and Tony Stark.
Check out all the preview pages here:
Many of the Hellfire Gala designs seen in the preview pages are by artist Russell Dauterman and include "every superhero on the planet."
The Hellfire Gala is modeled after New York's annual Met Gala, which has overtaken the Oscars as the red carpet fashion event for the style elite. Krakoa's version is a green carpet, however.
Dauterman will contribute 11 new looks, many of which will also be featured on variant covers throughout June.
Here's a gallery of Dauterman's 2022 designs:
Here's a look at all the covers released by Marvel for the special, including a new variant cover by Artgerm, and previously revealed covers by Arthur Adams, Carlos Gomez, and Nick Dragotta.
2022's special will also reveal the new core X-Men team lineup including the winner of the fan vote.
"Last summer your host Emma Frost invited you to celebrate Krakoa with some fireworks. This year, it's about celebrating mutantdom's friendship with humanity," Duggan explains in Marvel's announcement. "Once again, we have a murderer's row of talent crafting a one-shot with revelations that will chart the biggest stories in the Marvel Universe. All that, and meet a new team of X-Men."
X-Men: Hellfire Gala #1 goes on sale July 13. The event will also be accompanied by Hellfire Gala variant covers on 20 titles in June but artists like Dauterman, Carmen Carnero, Iban Coello, Chris Bachalo, Jen Bartel, Mateus Manhanini, Mahmud Asrar, Miguel Mercado, Meghan Hetrick, InHyuk Lee, and Eric D'Urso.
Check out a gallery of those previously released covers along with a new Namor cover by Chris Bachalo for Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #1 along with the full list of variants:
On sale June 1
- Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #1 by Chris Bachalo – Namor
- X-Force #29 by Miguel Mercado – Forge
- X-Men #12 by Inhyuk Lee – Cyclops
On sale June 8
- Amazing Spider-Man #5 by Russell Dauterman – Spider-Man
- Black Panther #7 by Erica D'urso – Captain Marvel
- Fantastic Four #45 by Russell Dauterman – Doctor Doom
On sale June 15
- Iron Man #21 by Iban Coello – Iron Man
- Miles Morales: Spider-Man #39 by Russell Dauterman – Black Widow
- Moon Knight #12 by Russell Dauterman – Scarlet Witch
- Wolverine #22 by Russell Dauterman – Wolverine
On sale June 22
- Avengers #57 by Carmen Carnero – Captain America
- Captain America: Symbol of Truth #2 by Mateus Manhanini – Captain America
- Gambit #2 by Russell Dauterman – Gambit
- Hulk #8 by Russell Dauterman – She-Hulk
- Knights of X #3 by Mahmud Asrar – Rogue
- Marauders #4 by Russell Dauterman - Synch
- X-Men Red #4 by Jen Bartel – Jean Grey
On sale June 29
- Immortal X-Men #4 by Meghan Hetrick – Emma Frost
- Legion of X #3 by Russell Dauterman – Havok
- New Mutants #27 by Russell Dauterman - Magik
Keep track of 2022's X-Men titles and all the new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections coming in the near future.
